Dear friends, I have been so touched by your concern, good thoughts and well wishes…thank you!  This has been quite a journey, but I’m feeling better every day. This illness (Ciguatera) has taken me down some roads that I don’t usually travel, with some interesting results.  However, I did use it as a springboard to better health which led me to this week’s post.

I’ve been listening to my body and I eliminated a lot of what I normally eat.   I went from eating everything to eating a small number of options.  Quite honestly, this was hard…very, very hard.  Most of you know I don’t shy away from sugar, caffeine…and of course, my beloved butter.  You probably also have figured out that I’m not vegetarian, let alone vegan, but, to start this journey I eliminated EVERYTHING…sugar, caffeine, processed foods, dairy, white flour, alcohol, meat and fish (since it could trigger a relapse). What that left me with was a vegan diet, and a very healthy vegan diet at that.  So for the first week, this is a recipe that I devised and want to share with you because a tasty meatless recipe is always good to have on hand for our vegetarian and vegan friends and family.  Bonus: this one is also gluten free.

Quinoa is an ancient grain and a great protein that is a “go to” for vegetarians and vegans alike.  For this recipe, I used an organic, heirloom variety.  It’s easy to prepare, but rather bland, and I craved more flavor.  I found that when I added it to the kale sauteed with garlic and olive oil,  the garlic and olive oil coated the grain and gave it depth.  I roasted the the beets in this recipe which gave them a lovely, earthy sweetness.  If you have time, I would suggest toasting the walnuts as well.  The bright, crisp taste of pomegranate adds a fresh finish.

We really enjoy this meatless main dish.  If you are trying to decrease meat or gluten in your diet, or perhaps are cooking for folks who don’t eat meat at all, I invite you try this recipe for your next Sunday Supper.

P.S. Are you looking for a special sweet for Valentine’s Day?  If so, please check out my Pavlova Hearts with Chantilly Cream from the Sunday Supper archives.

Quinoa with Sauteed Kale, Roasted Beets, Walnuts and Pomegranate

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

A quick, easy, tasty vegan and gluten free main dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa prepared according to package directions (makes approximatley 2 cups cooked quinoa)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch Lacinato kale
4 small beets, roasted and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pomegranate, peeled and seeds (arils) removed
Balsamic vinegar, to taste

Directions:

Wash kale and remove center stem. Tear into small pieces.
In large saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil and minced garlic, stir making sure that garlic does not burn.
Add kale and stir to coat with the oil and garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
Add the quinoa and stir.
Finally, stir in roasted beets and walnuts till warmed through (about 30 seconds).
Add salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Divide onto 4 dinner plates.
Sprinkle with pomegranate.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Serve.

Enjoy!